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Friday, January 20, 2017

Collecting Abraham Lincoln

In the 1992 feature
film, Wayne's World, which is based
on the Saturday Night Live skit
starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, Garth Algar, speaking to Wayne Campbell,
compliments Cassandra—the film’s requisite bodacious beauty—with the following
epithet: “If she were a president she would be Babe-raham Lincoln.”

So entrenched is Abraham Lincoln in the collective consciousness of America that even a mindless
Hollywood comedy can—without hesitation and with nary a lick of context—name-drop
the 16th president in a joking manner and expect everyone in the
audience, even younger viewers with little care about what happened before they
were born, to immediately get the reference.

Widely regarded as the
best president in the history of America (numerous surveys, including a 2007
Gallup poll, have ranked him number one, ahead of such luminaries as George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson), Abraham Lincoln deserves his posthumous
fame and his reputation as a great leader, thanks in no small part to his
brilliant leadership during the most trying time in the history of the country:
the Civil War.

While in office
Lincoln had his share of detractors, including many slave owners in the South
and those who violently opposed his suspending of the writ of Habeas corpus during
the Civil War. However, these days you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone who
doesn’t love Lincoln, who, as anyone with even the most rudimentary
understanding of American history is all too aware, was assassinated by actor
and Confederate spy, John Wilkes Booth, on April 14, 1865.

One of Lincoln’s
most ardent admirers is Dan Weinberg, owner of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop,
which, as the name suggests, specializes in Lincolniana. In addition to rare
books, the store carries autographs, manuscripts, prints, paintings,
sculptures, stamps, pamphlets, and much more.

According to
Weinberg, who began his involvement with the store in 1971 and in 1984 became
sole proprietor, Lincoln was indeed the greatest American president.

“When I came to the
shop 40 years ago,” Weinberg said, “I knew about Lincoln’s major
accomplishments, of course, but when I began studying him in depth I discovered
that the ‘mythology’ surrounding Lincoln is essentially correct. His honesty,
ethics, and morality were second to none. He was an amazing leader and a true
genius.”

Abraham Lincoln was
born on February 12, 1809, in a one-room cabin in Kentucky. In December of
1816, the Lincoln family, who lost their land partly due to a faulty title,
moved to Indiana. Abe’s mother, Nancy, died of “milk sickness” when he was only
nine years old. In 1819, Abe’s father, Thomas, married Sarah Bush Johnston.

Lincoln received
limited formal education and was primarily self-educated, literally reading everything
he could get his hands on (books were a rare commodity in largely illiterate frontier
Indiana), including such volumes as Robinson
Crusoe, Dillworth’s Spelling-Book,
and Life of Washington (it should
come as no surprise that Lincoln greatly admired the founding fathers).

In 1842, the tall
and gangly, yet athletically adept (he was a renowned wrestler) Lincoln married

Mary Todd. Prior to being elected the 16th president of the United
States on November, 16th of 1860, Lincoln held a variety of jobs,
including general store owner, postmaster, county surveyor, congressman
(initially a member of the ill-fated Whig Party, Lincoln later helped shape the
new Republican Party), and lawyer (practicing law under Mary Todd’s cousin, John
T. Stuart).

“Part of Lincoln’s
brilliance is that he was self-taught,” Weinberg said. “Through self-directed
study and innate genius, he was able to understand issues and the law. He
learned how to write speeches, how to be a lawyer, and how to be the Commander
in Chief.”

Lincoln’s exploits
during his presidency are the stuff of legend. His famed Emancipation
Proclamation helped ensure the freedom of more than three million slaves and
provided the groundwork to outlaw slavery altogether. His concisely elegant
Gettysburg Address, which typified his rarified oratory skills, remains one of
the most quoted political speeches in history. And, of course, there’s that
little matter of preserving the state of the Union.“We [as a nation]
were very lucky to have him in office at that tumultuous time in history,”
Weinberg explained. “A lesser president might have let half the country go. Or,
on the other end of the spectrum, inclined toward real dictatorship (as opposed
to merely suspending Habeas corpus and shutting down a newspaper or two).”

While Lincoln has
been elevated to virtual sainthood over the years, he, like all presidents
before and after him, wasn’t perfect, something Weinberg freely admits.

“I wish Lincoln
would have learned the military aspects of being president more quickly,”
Weinberg said. “Strategy he understood almost immediately, but I wish he would
have found a general more quickly. Maybe then the war could have ended a year
or three earlier.”

Also, while it’s
generally understood that Lincoln was fond of children, he didn’t necessarily
take to parenting right away.

“He had to learn how
to become a father,” Weinberg said. “I don’t think he was a good father in the
beginning. He was away a lot, and I think Robert [Lincoln’s first son] may have
felt that. It really wasn’t until Willie [Lincoln’s third son] came along that
he learned fatherhood.” (Lincoln had a total of four children—all boys).

Despite these
perceived shortcomings, Lincoln remains largely above reproach. And, in
addition to being regarded as the greatest president of all time, he’s the most
collected as well. Collectors all over the world clamor for original Lincolnalia
from the 19th century.

According to
Weinberg, some of the rarest, most valuable Lincoln items are letters written
by Honest Abe. “I had one spectacular letter that sold for hundreds of
thousands of dollars. It was written to Thomas Corwin during the presidential
campaign of 1860. Lincoln succinctly explained that he was against slavery and
that he would do something about it.”

In addition to
selling Lincoln items, Weinberg is a collector as well. “Hanging on my wall
right now is the only known instance of Lincoln misspelling his name. He
crossed it out, and it became ‘Linclon.’ He crossed it out and did it again
until he got it right.”

One-of-a-kind
Lincolnalia, such as the aforementioned letter, are clearly out of the price
range of the average collector. However, there are many vintage Lincoln items
that are highly affordable, including such mass produced items as books, electoral
tickets, and pamphlets. Even more affordable are replicated items, such as archival
quality reprinted photos, which can sell for as little as $55.

Easily the most
common Abraham Lincoln collectible is the Lincoln Cent, which was commissioned
by President Theodore Roosevelt, designed by Victor David Brenner (who placed
his initials conspicuously on the back of the coin), and released into circulation
on August 2, 1909. Prior to the taboo-busting Lincoln Cent, it was considered
indecorous by many to feature the image of a person—living or dead—on a
circulating coin (despite, or maybe because of, such precedents as the infamous
Julius Caesar coin).

The 1909 Lincoln Cent—more commonly known as the penny—featured a profile of Abraham Lincoln, an
image still used today, making it one of the longest-running coin designs in
the history of the world. The reverse side depicting “wheat ears” was changed
in 1959 to a depiction of the Lincoln Memorial. While most so-called “wheat
pennies” are only worth a few cents each, certain issues with die flaws or with
Victor David Brenner’s initials are worth considerably more. (For more info on
coin values, consult the 2011 Hand Book
of United States Coins: The Official Blue Book by R.S. Yeoman and Ken
Bressett).

One of the more
colorful Lincoln collectibles is Classics Illustrated #142 ($30), which tells—in comic book form—the tale of Honest
Abe’s personal and professional life. Released in 1958, the issue was reprinted
in 2010 by Jack Lake Productions.

Also released in 1958 was Dell’s Abraham Lincoln Life Story #1 (1958,
$20). More recent sequential art offerings include the graphic novels New Adventures of Abraham Lincoln (1998)
and A Treasure of Victorian Murder: The
Murder of Abraham Lincoln (2006).

Whether you’re a
serious student of presidential history, or you’re simply a fan of Honest Abe
and would like to acquire a few mementos, the collecting possibilities are
virtually endless, ranging from vintage campaign items to post-assassination
commemoratives to modern day kitsch.

Weinberg has advice
for the aspiring Lincoln collector. “I always tell people ‘quality over
quantity.’ Of course, it’s a hobby, and you have to collect in a way that makes
you happy. I don’t recommend collecting Lincolnalia solely for investment purposes,
but if you do then you’d better collect top of the line stuff, something that
has spectacular content or a great story behind it.”

Here’s a look at the
selling prices of a recently completed run of eBay auctions for various Abraham Lincoln items:

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About Me

A freelance writer, I'm the author of the Classic Home Video Games series, The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987, Encyclopedia of KISS, and other books. I've had articles published in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Filmfax, Fangoria, AntiqueWeek, The Writer, Mystery Scene, and more.
Contact me at brettw105 AT sbcglobal.net.